Bobbin tip support means in filling battery



Dec. 21, 1965 w. E. HARMON BOBBIN TIP SUPPORT MEANS IN FILLING BATTERY Filed Aug. 8, 1963 INVENTOR. WILLIAM E. HARMON ATORNEY FIG. -3-

United States Patent Oflfice 3,224,469 Patented Dec. 21, 1965 3,224,469 BOBBIN TIP SUPPORT MEANS IN FILLING BATTERY William E. Harmon, Pacolet Mills, S.C., assignor to Deer-ing Millikan Research Corporation, Spartauburg, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 300,798 6 Claims. (Cl. 139249) This invention relates to filling replenishing looms and more specifically to improved support means for tips of bobbins or filling carriers secured in a filling battery.

In filling replenishing looms, it is customary to insure a continuous supply of filling yarn by means of filling batteries. Essentially a filling battery is a device having a means for holding a supply of full filling carriers or bobbins and a mechanism for transfering these full bobbins to the shuttle to replace an empty or near empty bobbin. When the amount of filling in the operating shuttle has become depleted to a predetermined amount, a filling fork or a feeler mechanism transmits an indication to the transfer mechanism. If the filling yarn breaks in weaving, the filling fork detects the break and causes the loom to stop; or actuates the transfer mechanism, which supplies a new full bobbin without the loom stopping. As a result of this indication from either the feeler mechanism or filling fork the transfer mechanism is set into operation causing the depleted or near depleted bobbin to be ejected through the bottom of the shuttle and replaced by a full or partially full bobbin which is forced into position within the shuttle by a transfer hammer.

To insure the proper threading up of the shuttle by the filling yarn on the new bobbin in the shuttle, it is necessary to have the end of the yarn on each bobbin in the battery attached to a holder. In batteries of the type which secure a bobbin by engaging the tip extremity by means of a spring loaded, rigid tip extremity engaging device, yarn passing from the bobbin to the holder is frequently trapped between the bobbin tip extremity and the tip extremity engaging device often resulting in damage to the yarn. When a bobbin having yarn trapped in the tip extremity engaging device is transferred in normal bobbin replacement operations, the yarn is often broken at the trapped point. If the trapped yarn does not break or transfer, the damage to the yarn will usually result in a break the first time the shuttle bearing the damaged yarn makes a pass across the loom. Batteries which secure a lbobbin by engaging the tip extremity by means of a spring loaded, rigid tip extremity engaging device also require a large diameter end disc for mounting the tip engaging device; that is to say the diameter of the end disc extends a substantial distance beyond the tips of the bobbins secured in the battery. Yarn passing from the bobbin to the holder must pass over the edge of the large diameter small end disc and thereby be subjected to additional danger of damage.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a battery with a small end disc which will engage a bobbin in a manner wherein yarn will not be trapped and damaged or broken.

It is another object of this invention to provide a battery with a small end disc which will secure the tip portion of a bobbin by engaging the side portions of the bo-bbin tip.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a battery with a small end disc having bobbin engaging means which are made of deformable material softer than the bobbin tip which will prevent any damage to yarn or bobbin tip.

In accordance with this invention a battery has been discovered which will secure bobbins in a manner such as to prevent yarn from being trapped at the tip of the bobbin and subsequently broken in bobbin transfer operations. The improved battery of this invention employs a small end disc bobbin holder of reduced diameter wherein the disc has disposed thereon a plurality of stationary filling carrier engaging areas arranged about the disc periphery, the filling carrier engaging areas being lined with a resilient material. The resilient material lined areas of the small end disc bobbin holder engage the side portions of a bobbin tip rather than the tip extremity and thereby prevent yarn from being trapped by the tip end and being damaged.

For purposes of this invention, the term bobbin tip or filling carrier tip, which terms are used interchangealbly, is meant to define that small diameter section of the bobbin which lies in the area bounded by the terminus of said small diameter section up to a point about one quarter the distance to the large diameter butt portion of the bobbin. The term bobbin tip extremity or filling carrier tip extremity as used herein is meant to define the perpendicular face of the terminus of the small diameter section of the bobbin.

A better understanding of the invention may be had from the description of the drawings which are as follows:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a battery having a small end disc bobbin holder provided with side engaging means.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged broken section of the small end disc looking in the direction of arrow 2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 -is an enlarged broken view of one embodiment of the resilient material lined peripheral groove portions of the device of this invention.

Referring to the drawings and more specifically the perspective view of the battery shown in #FIGURE 1. The

loom frame 1 may be of usual construction and mounted upon the loom frame is the stand of the battery comprising a foot portion 2 and an end or cover plate 3 and mounted in the cover plate is the stud of axial support 4 on which the rotary portion is mounted for turning movement.

Extending from the battery stand 2 is a stud or dead shaft 5 on which is mounted the transferrer 6 in its upper or inactive position. Extending downwardly from the hub of the transferrer 6 is the arm 8 to which is pivo-tally connected as usual the dog 9 which imparts transferring movement to the transferrer on call for replenishment of filling by engagement with the usual bunter on the lay.

The small end disc 11 which is shown in greater detail in FIGURE 2 of the drawings has its peripheral surface notched with groove members 12, the groove members 12 are integral with small end disc 11 and are lined with a resilient material 13, which may be a material such as for instance foam rubber r foamed polyurethane, which engage the sides of the yarn wound and the yarn free tip portions of wound bobbin members 10. It should be noted that the small end disc 11 as illustrated in FIGURE 1 of the drawings is of a diameter such that the battery secured yarn wound bobbins project beyond the peripheral edge of the small end disc 11. Yarn being passed from bobbins 10 to yarn guide 14 will therefore be free from any obstruction by the peripheral edge of small end disc 11. The reduced diameter of the small end disc 11 also provides extra clearance above the bottom surface of the lay and thereby prevents snagging of the yarn end from the small end disc 11 to the Stafford thread cutter (not illustrated).

When yarn wound bobbin members 10 are loaded into the battery, the free yarn end from each bobbin member 10 is passed over thread guide 14 and secured to a thread holder which is not illustrated. The notched portions 12 in the periphery of the small end disc 11 will not interfete with, snag, catch, damage, or otherwise break the free yarn end passing from the bobbin members across thread guide 14. Consequently, when a yarn wound bobbin has reached the transfer position in the battery and the transfer member 6 effects a transfer of the yarn wound bobbin to the shuttle, the transfer is effected without breaking yarn at the tip of the bobbin members '10.

The shape of the tip portion of the yarn wound bobbin determines the shape of the groove employed. In general, a yarn wound bobbin has a relatively small yarn free section at the terminal portion of the tip of the bobbin, the yarn being built from this free area into a cone formation, the cone rising at an average of about a ten degree angle toward the butt section of the bobbin before leveling off to form a cylindrical area in the central portion of the bobbin. The groove members employed in the apparatus of this invention are therefore substantially conically walled groove members which are designed to engage both the yarn free portion at the extreme tip of the bobbin as well as the yarn wound conical portion of the bobbin. It should be understood that while the sides of the yarn free tip portion alone may be engaged or the side portions of the yarn wound conical portion alone may be engaged, it is preferred that both the yarn wound portion and the yarn free portion of the bobbin tip be secured within the groove member of the battery of this invention.

The bearing faces of the groove portions 12 of the small end disc 11 engage the bobbins or filling carriers 10 along a plane which is substantially oblique to the longitudinal axis of the bobbins or filling carriers 10 and which is substantially parallle to the face of the conically yarn wound portion of the bobbins 10. The resilient liners 13 of the notched portions 12 exert a force against the bobbins or filling carriers 10 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bobbins or filling carrier 10 and also exert a force in the direction of the butt portion of the bobbins or filling carriers 10. The axial and longitudinal forces exerted on the filling carriers 10 are sulficient to retain the filling carriers 10 within the battery until such time as a transfer is called for. The forces which secure the filling carriers 10, however, are insufficient to trap and damage the free yarn ends which are passed from the individual filling carriers over the yarn guide 14'.

As the resilient liner in the notched portions of the small end disc are subject to wear, an alternative form of the invention is shown in FIGURE 3. FIGURE 3 which is a broken portion of the small end disc illustrates spring clip members 24 and 24' having resilient liners 23 on their inner faces. Spring clip member 24 is shown detached from groove member 22. When the spring clip member is fully inserted into a groove member 22 as is spring clip member 24, the outward pressure exerted by the spring clip member 24 against the walls of the groove 22 is sufficient to retain the spring clip Within the groove. Preferably the spring clip member 24 is equipped with a detent 25 which will drop into a hole 26 in groove member 22. The detent member 25 serves to prevent longitudinal movement of spring clip member 24' which might otherwise occur in the presence of heavy vibrations.

That which is claimed is:

1. In a filling replenishing loom battery of the type which secures a plurality of filling carriers, a disc having disposed thereon a plurality of stationary and resiliently lined filling carrier engaging areas, said filling carrier engaging areas having bearing faces which exert opposing forces which are substantially oblique to the longitudinal axis of the filling carriers.

2. In a filling replenishing loom battery of the type which secures a plurality of filling carriers, a disc having integral on its peripheral surface a plurality of filling carrier engaging grooves the bearing faces of said grooves exerting opposing forces said forces being substantially oblique to the longitudinal axis of the filling carriers.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said grooves are lined with a resilient material.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said grooves are provided with replaceable clip members which are lined with a resilient material.

5. In a filling replenishing loom battery of the type which secures a plurality of filling carriers by engaging the tip and the butt of said filling carriers, a disc having integral on its peripheral surface a plurality of conically walled grooves, the bearing faces of which are disposed in a manner so as to engage opposite sides of the tip portion of the filling carrier and exert a force in the direction of the butt of said filling carrier.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said grooves are lined with. a resilient material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,142,937 6/1915 Crompton 139-250 1,595,045 8/1926 Kirk 139248- 1,621,242 3/1927 Draper 139248 1,830,509 11/1931 Fuller 139--248 2,792,849 5/1957 Tice 139248 DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner. 

1. IN A FILLING REPLENISHING LOOM BATTERY OF THE TYPE WHICH SECURES A PLURALITY OF FILLING CARRIERS, A DISC HAVING DISPOSED THEREON A PLURALITY OF STATIONARY AND RESILIENTLY LINED FILLING CARRIER ENGAGING AREAS, SAID FILLING CARRIER ENGAGING AREAS HAVING BEARING FACES WHICH EXERT OPPOSING FORCES WHICH ARE SUBSTANTIALLY OBLIQUE TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE FILLING CARRIERS. 